Can’t say he wasn’t warned. Modesto police arrest suspect in surveillance vehicle fire
It’s painted in big bold letters right there on the side of the surveillance vehicle: “Smile. You’re on camera.”
That didn’t stop someone from setting fire to the Modesto Police Department’s “Armadillo” as it sat in Tuolumne River Regional Park on Saturday.
About 7:15 p.m., Modesto and Stanislaus Consolidated fire crews responded to a vehicle fire report in the park and arrived to find a small vegetation fire and a small fire involving the Armadillo, which is equipped with cameras on all sides and is meant to deter crime in areas where it’s deployed.
The truck also is used to record criminal activity and identify suspects.
Lt. Joe Bottoms said Sunday that the Armadillo apparently did not help identify and locate the suspect — “I think someone called it in” and the alleged arsonist made the mistake of hanging around — but its surveillance images almost certainly will confirm his identity.
The Modesto Fire Department said crews extinguished both fires and police arrested the suspect.
The county jail booking log shows that a Jose de Jesus Rodriguez, 34, was arrested by Modesto police at 7:30 p.m. on suspicion of arson and parole violation. Bottoms could not confirm Sunday morning that Rodriguez is the suspect.
The lieutenant said he’s not seen the Armadillo since the fire but understands that the damage is “not a whole lot” and was to the bottom of the vehicle.
